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Unfortunately the printer being used to print envelopes uses a LPR port which can only be attached to an old machine running Windows 98. The rest of the systems in the network are running Windows 7 and need to have the ability to send print jobs to Windows 98 print server.

Are there any alternatives? Unfortunately Linux is not an option as there are no known drivers for the printer unless this does not matter.

If there any no alternatives, what should be secured on the network and the print server so that it is not susceptible to viruses, unauthorized access, etc?

The network does not run off a domain as they only have 5 computers.

PeanutsMonkey
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Get a USB-to-parallel adapter, it's around $7. Connect this printer with this adapter to any computer running Windows. HP LaserJet drivers are available for modern Windows versions too.

USB to Parallel

This is what one vendor says about their adapter:

Add a DB25 parallel port to your desktop or laptop PC through USB. The ICUSB1284D25 6 ft USB to DB25 parallel printer adapter cable turns an available USB port on a host PC into a DB25 female parallel port - allowing you to connect a DB25 printer to the computer as if the necessary parallel port was built-on. A cost-effective and reliable solution, the USB to DB25 adapter saves the expense of replacing a parallel printer for the sake of USB capability.

haimg
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D-Link makes a parallel print server that plugs directly into the parallel port on the printer. You plug a network cable into it, and access it as a standard TCP/IP LPR port. We've been using one on our old hp LaserJet 4100 series printer that was used as the mainline printer back when printer built-in networking was a little over priced.

We purchased the LPT Port print server to get the printer off the Domain Server to quit wasting server clock cycles on spooling a shared printer when the workstations could do a better job of it and communicate directly to the printer.

The lj-4100 outlasted the hp LJ4250dtn with built-in print server that replaced it and is still plugging away over in Accounts Payable with this nifty D-Link device plugged into its parallel port.

I think the current iteration is D-Link DP-301P or something similar.

Fiasco Labs
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